VS Bombshell Seduction: Review & Musings on Holiday Packaging

Long ago (long ago being a couple of years ago), I came to the conclusion that I was a complete sucker for packaging. I know you’re never supposed to judge a book by its cover, or a lipstick by its tube, but somehow I always manage to forget. The second I catch sight of a pretty piece of packaging, I must rush over and inspect it.

With the holidays approaching, companies are starting to wrap their products in luxe cases and tempting tubes, and I’m having trouble looking away. Case in point: I haven’t swatched Guerlain Parure de Nuit in person yet, but goshdarn, I want it just because it looks so good.

Another good example of holiday packaging that sucks me in is this brand new perfume from Victoria’s Secret (one day I will attempt a non-sloppy segue, and all of you will think you’ve landed on another blog):

I love the glass gradient from red to pink. I love the black stripes that make me think of a wacky peppermint candy. I love that the silver button on the bow is actually attached to the cap, and doesn’t lift off. Most of all, I love the bottle because, as I said before, it reminds me of a wacky peppermint, which reminds me that the holidays are approaching, which in turn makes me happy.

The box is also quite pretty. This is one of the boxes I will be keeping indefinitely (until the day comes when I realize I have 20 empty boxes floating around, and haven’t gotten one bit of use out of them. Then I throw them out, and the cycle begins all over again).

Billed as a fruity-floral fragrance, this smells surprisingly clean to my nose. It starts off with a juicy burst of apple and citrus, which never comes across as overpowering. After a few minutes, the perfume mellows out into a bright, peachy scent, rounded off with a light mix of florals, musk, and amber.

While I get a good 5-6 hours of staying power out of this EDP, it remains a relatively light affair throughout its wear time.

This is the kind of perfume that people might smell in passing, and register as a pleasing scent. In fact, I think I can safely say that this one’s a crowd-pleaser. I usually don’t get many remarks on my perfume, but when Tomi of Tiger Lily Makeup got within sniffing distance the other day, her proclamation of “YOU SMELL SO GOOD!” almost blew my eardrums out.

The only drawback to this type of scent is that it isn’t terribly unique. But to the best of my knowledge, you can’t really have both a unique and crowd-pleasing scent in one perfume. There are some fragrances I wear to slowly savor, and there are some I wear to smell good. This will make you smell good, and with all the busy bustling over the holidays, that’s all I ask for. Think of it as a loose white t-shirt that fits perfectly, and never clashes with the rest of your outfit.

Victoria’s Secret Bombshell Seduction retails at $52 for a 1.7 oz bottle. If perfume isn’t your thing, the collection also includes a Body Mist and Shimmer Lotion. It’s available now, both in store and online, until January 2012.

Thumbs up for

Lovely holiday packaging from box to bottle, wearable scent that should please many.

Thumbs down for

Not the most unique fragrance, but everyone has different preferences when it comes to perfume.

Final decision

If a pleasing perfume in a pretty case sounds like your thing, don’t hesitate to give this a sniff in-store. Also, do remember that perfume actually smells different on everyone. The lovely Trisha of Makeup Files mentioned in passing that this smells candy-like and sweet on her, while on me, it’s a very clean type of fruity-floral. So if in doubt, sniff in store!

Have you smelled VS Bombshell Seduction? What did you think? And does anyone else have the habit of keeping empty boxes around forever?

~Makeup Morsels

Full Disclosure: The product in this post was submitted for review, either by a PR firm or directly from the manufacturer. For more information, please see my disclaimer.

hahahah, I’ve done that before. I think I emerged from Sephora wheezing and sneezing last time I attempted a mass-spraying session, so I haven’t tried it lately. Which types of perfumes do you tend to like/what are your favorite scents?

I love pretty packaging as well and this bottle is so cute, love it! Not sure it’d be enough to make me buy this scent though as it doesn’t sound like something I’d wear.. I prefer more original, oriental fragrances..

I might go see this for myself.. the packaging is really pretty and cute!! …but the price is really surprising for VS. Sounds like just my type of scent though :D I didn’t know that this was the one I smelled that day! I wonder how it will work with my chemistry. o_o

They’re perfumes are usually around this price. Then they have that tier of perfumes/body sprays that are usually released with their bath&body care, which tend to be less expensive. Yup, definitely think you would like this! Then I could jump on you hehe

I love love love the scent! It’s very subtle and not overpowering, great for everyday use because it’s not a strong scent that would cause a headache; however, as subtle as it is, it doesn’t last long. I spray a lot of it to try to make it last but after 45 minutes to an hour the scent is gone. For the price I paid for the gift set ($65) I would expect it to be a lasting fragrance. So kudos for the scent, thumbs down for not being a long-lasting fragrance.

I was searching for a new scent the other day and stumbled upon this during their semi-annual sale. Absolutely love it. I was a bit shocked by how awesome it smells since I’m very picky and I didn’t care for most of their selection. Ended up buying it flat out and my husband agrees it is quite a nice scent.